What exactly is the active voice?

Posted on 06 October 2011

Writing in the Active Voice

The active voice is easier and more interesting to read than the passive voice - technically, it means that:

The person or thing carrying out the action expressed by the verb, is the subject - so ...

Active voice:

Sally opened the letter.

Passive voice:

The letter was opened by Sally.

Or

The door was opened.

The words am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been  often means  the passive voice is being used.

Passive voice makes your writing sound more formal,  less natural and less direct – that's why it's best avoided when youre writing conversational style copy.

Read more on writing style and writing great copy:

http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-101/

 

 

 

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